Subbuteo_171
Well-known member
No need for it at all now. Save £100bn plus, no way it will go beyond Birmingham if the first phase ever gets finished given there will be no demand, business travel will be a fraction of what it was pre Covid.
Like the thousands of hectares of arable farmland covered in concrete and tarmac for new roads and widening existing concrete - every year.Ridiculous vanity project and devastating for our natural countryside. Outrageous waste of money
It’s the wrong bloody route! The problem is cross country services, Cambridge/Oxford/Birmingham, Yorkshire /Lancashire etc. etc. London has all the connections it needs.
I live about 5 miles from it in Bucks and it’s causing all sorts of stress here.
I used to live in a village which is having go through its western edge on the edge of the Chilterns and the scar on the landscape is horrid.
up the road in Steeple Claydon protected habitats have been dug up and naturally protestors are out most days.
I’m all for projects which move the country forward but this just grinds me.
My anger was topped off when I went to go for a casual round of golf with a mate and when we got there the golf club had been closed down and HS2 is going through the 14th.
When we want to go to Birmingham to see family and/or the Boro in the West Midlands it’s 3 hours (and silly money) if we go by train. Crackers!I agree with this. Distinct lack of cross country. It used to annoy me that if I want to go from Cheltenham to Oxford, I had to Cheltenham->Bristol->Didcot->Oxford
as I said i above, I am for projects that move the country forward, HS2 doesn’t do that.
Many ancient woodlands and wild-life habitats were bulldozed because it was thought the roads were the only future for transport. Marples also owned an enormous share in companies dedicated to building new roads.
Too many politicians getting tucked up with their personal interests being benefited.
I’ve walked a lot of the woodlands along the Ridgeway and they are truly ancient, with the ridgeway itself being around 5000 years old and the old hillforts are testament to that.
it pains me to see it, as I’ve had some important reflection periods walking that area when struggling with anxiety.
mile for mile, the cost of HS2 is well below the money spent on infrastructure for London within the M25.
If we agree to protect areas you describe [which I think is imperative for us to preserve for future generations] expenditure needs to include tunnels, but, mile for mile, the cost of HS2 is well below the money spent on infrastructure for London within the M25.
Incidentally, the residents of High wycombe complained loudly to Parliament that traffic on the route of the Metropolitan Railway was going to double once the Aylesbury - Marylebone section of the Great Central was built! That was 1894
When you consider:
4,000,000 GBP`s has been spent on redecoration and restoration of Buckingham Palace.
The current restoration of the Palace of Westminster is online to be
5,600,000,000 Billion when completed.
New road build for the coming year [two projects currently in progress] is
210,000,000,000 Billion when completed.
Hammersmith Bridge in London is costing
140,000,000 GBP`s to repair.
HS2, in context is far from the headline grabber some try to make it.
I concur entirely with your sentiments. I feel equally concerned that people winge about building on "green" land and talk of protecting the countryside [not you], then get in their car and expect a motorway to take them where they want to be and sod everyone else.I’m a traditionalist when it comes to the countryside, Christmas traditions, self sufficiency and general family life, so there’s a very good chance I over romanticise things. The irony being my whole career has been made from e-commerce and tech.
I think the countryside and natural world offers me much needed balance, so I get protective when it’s getting destroyed unnecessarily.